Thursday, November 13, 2008

Whoa Girl!!

Yesterday was quite a varied day for me in terms exercise; a spontaneous 30 minute walk at lunchtime with a friend from work, 45 minutes of TKD patterns practice at the gym after work, followed by an Intermediate Pilates class which left my "core" rather warm! It's quite a difficult thing to do, letting myself go for a walk, or spending a whole hour stretching and doing core work instead of kicking pads and doing footwork drills at TKD class. I don't think I would even have considered taking up Pilates if it wasn't for my back problems, even though I do enjoy it I just wouldn't have thought I had the time with TKD every evening. But now it's helping my back so much that it's not a case of trying to find time for it, it's simply a matter of committing to the classes and regularly attending - no excuses allowed!

Similarly with the walking, in the past I would either have gone for a run, or just not gone at all. I never saw the value in walking, but again, since my back problems, I've realised that low-impact cardio like brisk walking really helps to loosen out my lower back/hips. My ego is unrelenting though, I still feel like I should have a sign on my back saying "I'm actually fit, I can run I swear!" as though walking is a sign of weakness!

How sad is it that it takes extreme pain before I finally listen to my body and slow down?! And how oddly contradictory that by doing less strenuous exercise, I am enabling my body to achieve more!

5 comments:

Charlotte said...

Sometimes it is important to just walk - that's a lesson I need to pay more attention to myself. Good for you!

Siobhán said...

Thanks Charlotte, I guess it's nice to slow down every now and then, even if we feel like we're missing out on potential endorphin rushes!

Anonymous said...

AHHH YES. I think it's a lesson we all need to learn for ourselves too.
no one can "tell" us.

(did you see my letter this wednesday in viewer mail? that might bolster you even more! I can cut & paste if you want to email)

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean about the ego thing. My knee won't allow me to run for more than 1.75 miles. Now, my heart and lungs and muscles can go longer (hence the 18 miles on the recumbent bike and 2.5 miles on the ellipse in the same trip to the gym).

And yet I get crap for walking.

Siobhán said...

Miz - I had rushed through your post and commented on the holiday tips, totally overlooking the helpful and extremely relevant link to the older post on overtraining! Thanks for pointing that out! Some good pointers in that.

Of course my problem now is that my gym access could be potentially withdrawn and there is no readily available substitute within a convenient distance. :o( There's always a solution though, so not to worry, I'm thinking of taking up a Tae-Bo/Boxercise type class nearby, it's on right after the kids classes I teach. I hate being overly reliant on one facility anyway, so perhaps this is good motivation to use creativity.

Trisha - Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about! I'm out "walking" and I feel like I'm one of those girls who go for a leisurely stroll a couple of times a week and complain that they're not losing weight... But it's good for my back so I need to just realise that those are my judgements, no one else's. :o)